17 and 18 year olds on Alaska Cruise?

[robinm918]

Hi,

 

We have been on 9 RC cruises with our son, all Voyager or Freedom class ships. He has always had a TREMENDOUS time. My wife and I have a Celebrity cruise booked on the Infinity next July to Alaska, departs and returns to Seattle.

 

We want our son and a friend to join us, and would appreciate any comments regarding their experience with young adults in this age group and how they enjoyed the cruise.

 

Thank you.

 

Frank

[Peery5]

We did RCCL to Alaska last June. Our 2 daughters 19 and 22 went. They really didn't like the cruise. The age of the cruisers seemed to be older. There was very little ship activity in the evenings and few people their age. They did enjoy port days as Alaska is beautiful. But as far as the cruise part they hated it.

[jlijny]

Our son is 17 and is looking forward to our Alaskan Cruise. Since the cruise is port intensive, there is so much to do during the day, that he doesn't care that much about the evenings. During the day, he is looking forward to a helicopter ride to go dogsledding, white water rafting, ziplining, ATV expedition, whale watching, going on a floatplane, etc. etc.

[kitty9]

Alaska is a great cruise, but unfortunately, that age group is one of the most underserved by ALL cruise lines. They're too old for the organized kid's activities, and too young for most of the adult activities. Plus, Infinity doesn't have anywhere near the activities that Royal Caribbean ships offer. Will they enjoy the trip? I don't know why not because it is very port intensive and there are some very active shore excursions that can keep them busy. The only time they might be bored is in the evening, but if there are other kids their age on board, they might be just fine.

[eandj]

If your son really enjoys all the bells and whistles provided on RCL ships, then no he won't find that on X ships. X ships are much more low key in anything entertainment wise than RCL. Plus if he's used to warm weather cruising so he can use the pool as a social activity, Alaska won't be offering those hot sunny days.

 

Personally unless he is really interested in views, history and maybe a little wildlife I wouldn't think it would be on his top ten list. I certainly woulnd't force him along. That's a tough age,,,especially on a X cruise to Alaska.

[bighairtexan]

A few years back we did an Alaskan cruise on a Carnival ship and even then there were only a handful of kids. If it's important to a teenager to have other teens to hang with then I don't suggest it. If, on the other hand, the teen would be happy hanging w/ mom and dad and having quality family time, then I'd recommend it.

The best vacation my DD (now 28) every had, was a TA on Celebrity when she was early 20's where the average age was just this side of dead. Yet she still talks about it and it was just the two of us traveling together. I did warn her ahead of time that the age on the ship would be skewed towards seniors.

The fact that your DS is taking a friend might be the saving factor, too.

[Infi]

I'm genuinely surprised to read so many think kids and teens wouldn't enjoy Alaska. My daughter has been 3 times and is still dying to go back, this time on a longer cruise. :cool: While I agree it depends slightly on your child - and some kids would be "bored" anywhere, my DD met teens who were "bored" by the Med this past summer - I think your kids could have a great time. As long as they don't expect all the bells and whistles of RCI, I don't see why they could be disappointed. The cruise is port-intensive, and there's always something to see: glacier, coastline, wildlife spotting. All of those are definitely things you don't see everyday. It's good that your son is bringing a friend along, that should help with staving off any potential boredom, but don't forget you are sailing in July. There should be plenty of other teens and young adults onboard, all in the same boat. Good luck, let us know how it turns out.

[bikinibottom]

Alaska is great and I do think a lot of families really enjoy it. When we went on Infinity in August there were over 300 kids onboard. But the teens and young adults were less catered to than the 10 and under crowd.

I think that Alaska has so much to offer and is wonderful. The scenery and natural wonders are amazing. But as far as being entertained on the ship that is a really tough age - and frankly they would probably find the RCCL ships less subdued and more fun in general than the X ships. Look at the reviews section on Cruise Critic and you will get some good feedback.

[andawayigo]

Both my kids, daughter was 17 and son 13, have cruised Alaska. With dd, we went on Royal Caribbean and there were enough of her age group for her to make some friends. With son, we went on Holland American and not so many kids. However, both had an excellent time. The unspoiled beauty and scenery more than make up for lack of onboard activities. You can take the train that goes up the mountain, you can kayak, you can see how totem poles are carved etc. When we went with my son, we took a floatplane and although this was in 2006, we still think of the experience. I highly recommend it.

[GeorgeL]

Hi,

 

We have been on 9 RC cruises with our son, all Voyager or Freedom class ships. He has always had a TREMENDOUS time. My wife and I have a Celebrity cruise booked on the Infinity next July to Alaska, departs and returns to Seattle.

 

We want our son and a friend to join us, and would appreciate any comments regarding their experience with young adults in this age group and how they enjoyed the cruise.

 

Thank you.

 

Frank

 

Alasks cruises in general attract much older passengers then any other itinerary. In addition, Celebrity also tends to attract older passengers so here you have a possible scenario where the probability of a large young crowd on this cruise looks to be very small.

Also, Celebrity is a much more relaxed cruise line as far the type of activities offered. Not many, if any at all, are geared toward the youth. This may not be the best cruise option for your son and his friend unless they will be happy just hanging out by themselves or with very few other teens.

[Booyakasha]

We sailed Alaska on the Mercury this past July with our kids. Although they are much younger than your children they absolutely loved it. Like others have said Alaska is all about the ports and nature and the scenery. If your kids like that kind of stuff they will love Alaska. There is so much to do off the ship that we were very tired and not worried about night life anyway. On our cruise in July there were about 300 kids so I would think your kids would have people to hang out with. My older son spent a lot of time in the teen club just hanging out doing what teens do. Playing basketball and ping pong. There is not a ton of other stuff to do for teens.

 

The pool area is really not the place to be on an Alaska cruise as the water is cold. My kids did swim as it hit 80 degreees one day but it is certainly not the hub of activity like you would find on a warm weather cruise. The towel racks actually had wool blankets in them instead of towels. :)

 

Overall a great, great cruise with a major emphasis on nature and beautiful scenery, not a party cruise.

 

B.

[curiouscat]

I absolutely think your 17 yr old child would love the experience of Alaska...but to get the maximum experience I would recommend RCCL.... then you have the best of both worlds... great scenery,education of one of our great states and the "fun" of RCCL

 

CC

[CTKath]

Hi,

 

We have been on 9 RC cruises with our son, all Voyager or Freedom class ships. He has always had a TREMENDOUS time. My wife and I have a Celebrity cruise booked on the Infinity next July to Alaska, departs and returns to Seattle.

 

We want our son and a friend to join us, and would appreciate any comments regarding their experience with young adults in this age group and how they enjoyed the cruise.

 

Thank you.

 

Frank

 

 

My kids were almost 17 and 21 when we took them to Alaska. We told them if they wanted to go on their own during the day (whilst on the ship) then we should just meet up for dinner. Well, weended up eating every meal together and had a really memorable time. We all LOVED Alaska. Have a great time!

[nwwinelady]

Our first cruise was on Celebrity to Alaska. Our daughters were 14 & 17. We all had a great time; in port and on the ship. They met some new friends and also were with us a good portion of time. Alaska is beautiful.

[QueenDido]

I did a number of Celebrity cruises with my parents when I was a teenager. When I was a younger teen (<15) the teen programs on the ship were fun since they allowed me to meet other kids. When I was in my later teens as your son is, those programs definitely lost their charm. However, I was luckily enough that my parents allowed me to bring friends along, and I always had a wonderful time, even when it was only my friend and I sipping on lattes and occupying ourselves in between ports.

 

On the whole I would say it really depends on what kind of personality your son has. I was a pretty laid-back teenager and I loved visiting ports and learning about new places. If your son is like that and he is allowed to bring a friend, I'm sure he'll have a fabulous time.

[dpw1959]

Our then 21 yo daughter joined us on our first cruise to Alaska. I will tell you that she loves the outdoors and is athletic so that may have something to do with it but she loved the cruise. Even though we had an interior stateroom (since then we do all balconies) we were up on deck on in the front observation area constantly. Our daughter even had several male suitors while on board. She found herself dancing under the stars at midnight one evening. We sailed with Holland American which is generally known for attracting an older crowd but she found several people to hang around with when she wasn't with us and they had several under age mixers to facilitate that. We also let her pick a shore excursion in Juneau (she chose sea kayaking) that she did without us.

[MEcruzr]

Just be aware that the 17 yo can participate in the teen stuff, but the 18 yo can't. The 18 yo can be in the bars/lounges/casino, but the 17 yo can't (they have to leave the bars at 11PM and can't be in the casino ever). Only you can know if this will be an issue or not.

 

My oldest son hates cruising and won't ever go again. My youngest loves it and keeps saying, "I'll go!" Both are in their 20's now. Hardest ages to be on a cruise ship are 18, 19 and 20.

[phoenix_dream]

My son has cruised with us from the age of 3 to current (24). He absolutely loves cruising, and has done most of his cruises on Celebrity. It depends on what the expectations are. If your kid expects a party ship and lots of fun stuff to do onboard with friends he will not find that. If he enjoys kicking back a bit, being spoiled rotten, and just hanging out, he will be fine. My son always brought along his laptop and used it whenver he was bored to watch DVD's, play video games, etc.. We also bring some games such as Boggle and have some family time together (there is Scrabble onboard). He says his favorite place to cruise is Alaska (primarily because he prefers colder weather to hot and humid, and because Alaska is more familiar, clean, and not like the poverty stricken Carribbean where we usually cruise). He particularly enjoyed the shore excursions which are so much nicer than the same old; same old of beach and snorkel.